Any and All Boats That Malibu Sold to Tommy’s Boats Were Ordered by Tommy’s
Malibu Intends to Vigorously Defend Itself While Minimizing Any Short-Term Impact on
“The Company intends to vigorously defend itself against the claims made by Tommy’s. Tommy’s was formerly a longtime dealer partner of ours, and we ended our relationship due to concerns about Tommy’s own conduct and its financial soundness. Indeed, Tommy’s lender is also suing it for violating the agreements Tommy’s used to finance the purchase of our boats. We will always act to protect our business, our customers and our shareholders.
As such, we believe it is important to clarify the following points:
- Any and all boats that Malibu sold to Tommy’s were ordered by Tommy’s. Malibu only sold boats to Tommy’s that Tommy’s ordered, and Malibu fulfilled its obligations under its agreements with Tommy’s. We value our relationships with our dealer partners, and we live up to our agreements.
- Malibu took action in light of Tommy’s sales of boats out of trust. In the fall of 2023, Malibu first became aware that Tommy’s was selling boats out of trust (selling boats that were bank collateral and not reporting the sales to the bank or repaying the bank). Upon learning that Tommy’s was selling out of trust, Malibu engaged with Tommy’s and M&T Bank, on numerous occasions, regarding Tommy’s financial position and potential paths forward. Those discussions did not result in a resolution that we believed was in the best interest of our shareholders, dealer partners and end-customers, and we therefore ended our relationship with Tommy’s. We do not currently have any dealership agreements in effect with Tommy’s.
- Tommy’s is already mired in litigation over its default on its lending agreements. Earlier this month and in response to, among other things, Tommy’s conduct in selling boats out of trust, M&T Bank sued Tommy’s for breach of its lending agreement. M&T has filed a motion to appoint a receiver over the assets of Tommy’s.
- Malibu is working to mitigate any disruption for our partners and customers – as well as our business. We have been working with our dealership network and are in discussions with strong dealer partners to limit any service gaps in markets previously served by Tommy’s. We remain committed to serving Malibu’s end-users in all our markets.”
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Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Forward-looking statements can be identified by such words and phrases as “believes,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “estimates,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “continue” and similar expressions, comparable terminology or the negative thereof, and includes statements in this press release regarding our belief that Tommy’s claims are false and our ability to mitigate any market disruption. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties are outside our control, and there may be other risks and uncertainties which we do not currently anticipate because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation (and we expressly disclaim any obligation) to update or supplement any forward-looking statements that may become untrue because of subsequent events, whether because of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.
Contacts
Investor
InvestorRelations@MalibuBoats.com
Media
malibuboats@longacresquare.com
Source:
2024 GlobeNewswire, Inc., source